May 21 Prophesy of Rapture - the Aftermath and the Fallout - a Senior Pastor's View
Many people read the article I wrote just before May 21. I said that I was not changing my daily routine at all. The day came and went. Now what?
Remember Y2K? Many thought that the world as we knew it would end. January 1, 2000 came and went.
The reason I mention Y2K because Y2K and the rapture prediction have something in common.
Just before the date Y2K was supposed to happen, an author wrote an article which began by his saying that the worst thing that could happen would be that nothing would happen. I was surprised by this statement so I kept reading to find out what he meant.
What he meant was that if nothing happened, then everyone would go back into their comfort zone.
Many people, if not most, live in a comfort zone in which they feel complacent, but are never stretched, never grow, never think outside the box, and never mature spiritually.
We have our desk at work, our Starbucks latte, our Facebook page, our after work drink, our favorite music and television shows, our DVDs and pizza on Friday or Saturday night, our favorite charity, our pets and our pet peeves. One thinks of the famous line about Mozart in Saint Exupery's Wind, Sand and Stars.
Someone once said that most people live lives of quiet desperation. The way most people learn to deal with something being missing from their life is they medicate themselves with drugs, legal and illegal; they medicate with marijuana and alcohol, and they "medicate" with music, television, the internet, and food.
If they are younger they "party" and if they are older they go to the gambling casinos. Perhaps they go to church but, and I say this gently and kindly and with all due respect, it's not your grandfather's church. Don't get me wrong socialization is nice--up to a point.
I will never forget, a famous writer was asked about Oakland, CA. Her famous line was when she was asked about Oakland, she said "there's no there there." (Incidentally, I love Oakland and there is a "there" there--Oakland's there is in the neighborhoods where you find some of the most beautiful and soulful people on earth).
I am making an analogy. When it comes to our comfort zone lives, there is no "there" there.
I could just tell you what the "there" there is that is missing in our lives, but it's better if you realize it for yourself.
Down through the ages, the saints and mystics have found this "there," and though they try their best, they are hard pressed to show us how to find what they found. Maybe something is lost in the translation.
"Seek and ye shall find," said the Messiah. Seeking is very important. For the mind, seeking. For the emotions, desiring with all your heart for the something missing. But it the soul which will have to do the heavy lifting. The soul must yearn for truth, and look within and find the inner way.
Now do you see what is bad about nothing happening? The social Christians-in-name-only will go back to their comfort zone. The agnostics will go back into a velvety comfy doubt. The mockers and the scorners will smirk and go back into smug atheistic complacency.
Meanwhile, someone will find another supposed rapture end of the world date to hoist upon the public.
And the middle of the road basically decent, hard working, down to earth people will shrug their shoulders and go back into the comfort zone.
For a brief moment in time, they wondered about and questioned the meaning of existence. But now the warm and cozy blankets of banality will cover them again.
But for some us--like the Three Wise Men, like the mystics throughout the ages, like the explorers, the inventors and and the true scientists--will not be satisfied until we find what we are looking for. We will keep searching until we find the pearl of great price.
"Build ever more stately mansion, O My Soul," said the poet. Now re-read the Sermon on the Mount, especially the part about those who mourn, the poor (in spirit) and those who seek, and your eyes may be opened to see for yourself what He meant.
